Hiding Inside Hyde
by christineexx
Summary: Hyde was more than eager to relocate into the basement when discovering the option at the Formans. Knowing both him and Eric, nobody stopped to question what made sharing a room so unbearable. But what was it that made Hyde so eager to leave?


_**Author's Note: Hey! This is just a quick little one-shot that I drew up one day while I had major writer's block against a T7S fic I'm working on. I figured it would help to get the creative juices flowing, and then it didn't turn out half bad so I decided I might as well post it! Enjoy c:**_

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Hyde let out a sigh as he sat on the floor of his new bedroom. He had been sharing a room with his foster brother for what felt like forever now— he wasn't sure how he was handling it, but he was. It probably helped that he was sleeping on a cot on the floor, and couldn't actually see him from where he lay.

Hyde hated his feelings; he always had. That's why he wore the Aviators he was so fond of. His feelings always betrayed him by doing something completely opposite of what his head wanted, and it sucked. But at least with the shades, he could hide them from the rest of the world.

"Soft, what light through yonder window breaks?" The Shakespeare reference came from down the hall, where Eric should be getting out of the shower right about now. He burst into the room in a robe, his copy of _Romeo&Juliet_ in his hand. He made his way over to the window and stared out into the one across the driveway; the house next door. The _girl _next door. The lights were on but the curtain was drawn, leaving Eric with the impression that Donna was both there and waiting for his arrival. "Hey, Hyde; you don't mind if I run over to Donna's real quick, right?"

"Nah, man," Hyde murmured, staring at his cot as he spoke. He couldn't dare look up. He was unsure of when his best friend had become more than that in his mind, but the idea still repulsed him. The fact that he got jealous over Eric and Donna's blossoming romance was disturbing, and he knew that it would freak out the gang even more than it did himself if he were to share. The fact that Donna was 'hot' helped, though; Hyde was about to pass it off as him crushing on her. It was deplorable enough in his mind to be pursuing someone so blatantly, but it would make it ten times worse if anybody found out that it was someone of his same gender.

Eric shuffled through his drawers, rummaging for an outfit that he deemed fit for wearing. He wanted to look… classy, but casual. Relaxed, but refined. He quickly selected a pair of khakis and pulled them on, but the choice of shirt eluded him. He pulled out his two choices, a green plaid button-down shirt or a red-and-gray striped polo. He turned around to face Hyde, holding up the two options. "Hey, Hyde? What do you think I should wear over to Donna's?"

Hyde glanced up upon his request, hissing in a breath and averting his eyes as soon as they met with Eric's bare torso. A scowl overrode his features. He shouldn't be affected by the beanpole's body, let alone attracted to it. This should be the point where he made fun of him by pointing out a new, nonexistent muscle and laughing while he searched desperately to find it. "Wear whatever," he finally grumbled. "You'll look scrawny either way."

"Seriously, Hyde!" he exclaimed, not noticing the distress on his best friend's face. He alternated holding the striped and plaid shirts in front of himself, trying to prompt both the attention and opinion he needed from Hyde.

"Seriously," Hyde mocked, squeezing his eyes shut in hopes to clear his mind. He opened them in order to stare at his cot again, trying to fight off the image of Eric that had been ingrained into his memory. He was seemingly incapable of doing so, but still forced himself to say what he would have before these feelings began taking their toll on him. "You're scrawny and neither of those is going to hide it. Maybe you should just wear a parka."

"Hyde, I have to look good for Donna!" Eric argued, desperate to instill the importance of this decision on his roommate. When Hyde still didn't even bother to look back up, he made a last-stand attempt at getting him to help. "This might be the night. You know, Hyde? We might finally… y'know, _do it._"

"I'm sure you will," the orphan boy grumbled. It was his last sarcastic comment before submitting to the wills of the lanky teen on the other side of the room, albeit a weak one. He took off his Aviators and lifted his eyes once again to Eric, whose gaze was flitting between the two shirts. "Wear the green one. It" –_brings out the color of your eyes— _"makes you look slightly less ridiculous."

"Thanks, Hyde," Eric said with a sincere gratefulness. He swiftly pulled his arms through the holes and began buttoning it up, leaving the top two undone. He was halfway out the door when he paused and turned back to look at Hyde, who was sitting morosely on his cot. His arms were hugging his knees to his chest, and his eyes were practically glued to the floor. Eric stared for a few moments before asking a hesitant, "Hyde? Are you… are you okay?"

"What?" His eyes snapped up to look at Eric's face, which was suddenly filled with concern. Hyde couldn't decide whether his earnest expression was more reassuring or obnoxious. "I'm fine, man."

"What's wrong?" he asked yet again, moving closer to Hyde. Upon approach, he noticed the disheartened expression on his roommate's face, which was accentuated by his reddened eyes. Eric frowned and sat on the edge of his bed nearest Hyde.

A scowl overtook Hyde's features as he whipped his shades back on, more than displeased to have been intruded on during his moment of vulnerability. If he'd expected the owner of the room to walk back in, he wouldn't have let himself drop his mask so soon. "Who the hell comes to talk to their roommate when they have a saucy redhead next door?"

"Stop it," he chided. Eric sat on the edge of his bed nearest Hyde's cot, slightly nudging the latter's leg with his foot. His eyes were trained on the orphan as he repeated softly, "Seriously, Hyde. What is it? Is it your mom?"

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Hyde asked, only half-serious. A familiar smirk settled on his lips as he finished with the typical response he gave when someone asked about Edna: "The only way a whore can make a grown man cry is if she kicks him in the gonads."

The corners of Eric's mouth twitched upwards, but he didn't allow himself to get sucked into Hyde's humor. Sure, he was funny— but not even thirty seconds ago, he'd looked like he was about to bawl his eyes out. "Then what is it?" He saw an incoming denial on Hyde's face, so he was quick to add, "We're best friends, Hyde. You can tell me anything."

Hyde froze, momentarily inclined to let his secret loose. For a brief second, he really considered just letting go and telling Eric what it was that was bothering him— his more-than-friends feelings for his just-a-friend. He paused before asking a meek, "Remember when you started hanging out with Buddy, and then he kissed you?"

"Oh, grow up, Hyde!" A scowl appeared on Eric's face as he jumped to his feet indignantly. "I can't believe you got me all worked up, just to tell me that I— that I'm—" He spluttered at the end of his sentence, unable to finish a thought through his anger.

"Forman, I wasn't gonna—" A matching expression fell upon Hyde's features, causing him to snarl up at the much scrawnier boy in front of him. "Fuck it. Whatever. Go have fun with your girlfriend."

"Don't think I won't!" Eric stormed out of the room angrily, freezing a few steps further when he heard something that sounded a lot like Hyde's fist shooting out at his bedframe. Hesitantly, Eric walked back into the room, looking down at the curly-haired resident. "But, uh, just for conversation's sake— what would you do if I actually was gay?"

"I'd kiss you," Hyde said solemnly, his blue eyes connecting with Eric's hazel. He kept up his intent stare, his voice dripping with sincerity.

"You'd—" Eric stopped before even the tiniest bit of a reaction could show through his words. After a long pause, a grin split his features as he exclaimed, "You got me, man! You almost had me going."

"I'm good at all of that 'almost' stuff," Hyde agreed wistfully, finally breaking his eye contact with Eric. He laid back on his cot, emotionally spent and having decided that revealing his sexuality was not worth all of the feelings and emotions and reactions it would evoke. For now, all he wanted to do was sleep. "Go have fun with Donna, man." This time, the statement was said sincerely rather than with the bitter undertone it had had the last time he'd said it.

"I'll be back with all the juicy details," Eric promised with an elated grin. He walked out the door and shut it behind him— but not soon enough to avoid having to hear Hyde's two cents.

"I'll leave your Playboy out on your bed."

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**_A/N: So? What do you think? c: Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! :D_**


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